WoW Forever Beta: Skyborne Race Defies Controversy, Hits 20% Player Share

Ever drop $30 on a beta just to play as a periwinkle elf? You're not alone. World of Warcraft: Forever's Skyborne race has been at the center of controversy, but new beta stats show they're actually one of the most popular choices.

The beta has been running for nearly a month, and fan-run data tracker Classic.io has been collecting player info. The numbers are eye-opening: the Alliance-aligned Skyborne are the fourth most popular race overall, with their Horde counterpart close behind. They've even beaten out Night Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Tauren, and Trolls. Only Undead, Humans, and Orcs rank higher. In fact, Skyborne make up nearly 20% of all players in the beta.

And it's not just race picks—Skyborne Druids are the fourth most chosen race and class combo, which has sparked plenty of debate. Blizzard recently had to step in and promise to make the Skyborne less "jarring" to look at, specifically calling out Druid animations. So yeah, the stats don't exactly match the uproar.

Why the disconnect? Simple: that $30 beta access includes the Skyborne race. So if you're paying to get in, you're probably going to try them out. Plus, senior game designer Josh Greenfield said the team always "knew we wanted to add some sort of elves," and the Skyborne reportedly came from veteran Chris Metzen himself. They're here to stay, and honestly, the community doesn't seem too broken up about it.

Personally, I'm all for the periwinkle-skinned elves—the pink hair goes hard. But I am a little disappointed to see Night Elves so low. If I had my way, we'd all be rolling elf characters, lore be damned.

So what do you think? Are you surprised the Skyborne are this popular, or did you see it coming? Will you be picking one up in the beta? Let us know in the comments!